MAGA world erupts over Trump's defense of Bondi amid Epstein files fallout
MAGA supporters are nor pleased with President Donald Trump following his full-throated defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose Department of Justice denied the existence of a Jeffrey Epstein client list after years of Trump surrogates vowing to reveal the disgraced financier's secrets.
Longtime conservatives and supporters of Trump sounded off on social media this weekend, as well as in person during a convention in Florida, with various messages pledging that the Epstein scandal will not "go away." The DOJ determined that Epstein committed suicide in 2019 and that there is no list detailing the names of the world's elite who allegedly took part in Epstein's history of sexual deviancy.
".@realDonaldTrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away," retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump's national security advisor from his first administration, posted to X on Saturday. "If the administration doesn’t address the massive number of unanswered questions about Epstein, especially the ABUSE OF CHILDREN BY ELITES (it is very clear that abuse occurred), then moving forward on so many other monumental challenges our nation is facing becomes much harder."
The DOJ and FBI said in a joint memo obtained by Fox News last week that the two agencies had no further information to share with the public about Epstein's case and death. That led to FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino clashing with Bondi over "lack of transparency" and threatening to resign over the matter, Fox News reported.
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Epstein was a notorious predator who pleaded guilty to procuring underage girls for prostitution in 2008, before he was arrested in 2019 on new federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. Epstein, who had rubbed elbows with the world's elites stretching from Bill Gates to being photographed with Trump long before his presidency, was found dead in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 by apparent suicide.
Many MAGA supporters, however, have claimed Epstein did not hang himself, and the death was allegedly part of a bigger cover-up protecting elites allegedly involved in his sexual abuse of minors.
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Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday evening and offered a strong endorsement of Bondi as conservatives demanded answers over the long-running scandal.
"What's going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?' They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB," Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday. "We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening."
He referred to Epstein as the "guy who never dies," adding, "For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again."
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Trump questioned why people were "giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration."
"They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands," Trump wrote. "Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?"
"LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 – That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more," he wrote. "One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about."
Trump supporters repeatedly posted on X that the Epstein scandal will not simply dissipate after years of high-profile Trump allies, including Bondi, Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, previously vowing to expose the corruption surrounding Epstein, his alleged client list and the alleged crimes that played out on his notorious island, Little Saint James.
"We cannot allow pedophiles to get away. I don’t personally care who they are or what elite or powerful position they hold. They must be exposed and held accountable!!!" Flynn continued in his X post.
Activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer also slammed Bondi over her leadership, while taking a swipe at the president as well.
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"President Trump says he thinks Blondi is 'doing a Fantastic job' as AG in a post he posted on Truth Social today…." Loomer posted to X on Saturday, accompanied by screenshots of his Truth Social post praising Bondi.
"People make their own choices and decisions, but mark my word, the lack of actual results at the DOJ and lack of transparency that translates into incompetence will cost the GOP House and Senate seats. Don’t say I didn’t warn you," she added in a follow-up post on Saturday.
Robby Starbuck, another longtime Trump supporter and conservative social media personality, railed online that the "age of secrets" must come to an end – beginning with Epstein.
"People want truth, they want the rapists exposed and brought to justice, they want to break the deep state, they want the 100 year storm of lies from government to end and they want to end the two tiered system of justice. People want peace, safety, justice and sanity," Starbuck posted in a lengthy message on Saturday.
"They want their country back. This case became a symbol for all of that. Fair or unfair, that’s the truth. President Trump rarely loses touch with what’s happening among the base but he’s missing the pulse on this one. Saying so doesn’t mean disloyalty or hatred, it means that this matters so much that we must remind him why it matters so much. We want President Trump to succeed on EVERYTHING he ran on. To do so requires disclosure and transparency on every issue. We need to end the age of secrets," he continued.
Amid the fallout surrounding the DOJ's Epstein findings, Turning Point USA is holding its Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay, Florida, where some conservative allies spoke out against the DOJ and Trump over the lack of answers regarding Epstein.
"I think that these people – and I don’t know, for whatever reason, there could be reasons – but I don’t think they’re telling us the truth about Epstein," podcaster Brandon Tatum said during the convention. "I think that that guy was involved in something nefarious that implicates a whole lot of people. And my guess is that the whole lot of people may have, may happen to be some of our allies and some people that we don’t want to have a bad relationship with."
"Trump is losing his touch," former Republican Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini said, according to NBC. "Bad personnel are undermining him left and right. We need a full reset."
The lack of additional details on Epstein has also spurred liberals to call on the Trump administration to release the files surrounding Epstein.
"Dear Donald Trump and Pam Bondi: Release the Epstein files. What ever happened to ‘Promises Made, Promises Kept?’" Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres posted to X.
Officials in Trump's orbit, including those who ultimately rose to high-level positions within the administration, had vowed to uncover alleged details and corruption that had not yet been made public or confirmed both before and after the high-stakes 2024 election.
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Patel told conservative social media personality Benny Johnson in 2023, before he became FBI director under Trump's second administration, that Republicans at the time could easily obtain Epstein's alleged client list with subpoena, while adding in another interview that year that Trump should "roll out the black book" containing Epstein's alleged client list on "day one."
Patel also doubled down during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would assist lawmakers in investigating Epstein's alleged web of the world's elite involved in his sex crimes.
"Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America," Patel told Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn when asked about investigating Epstein during his Senate confirmation hearing this year. "And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward."
Patel on Saturday posted to X that the "conspiracy theories" weren't and have never been true, but it was unclear if he was referring to Epstein or reports that he intended to step down if Bongino did.
"The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me," he posted.
Bondi has landed in hot water over her comments during a February Fox News interview when she was asked about the Epstein files, and said it was "sitting on her desk." The Epstein investigation came as the DOJ also readied to release files on former President John F. Kennedy's assassination and Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
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"It's sitting on my desk right now to review," Bondi told "America Reports" in February when asked about Epstein's alleged client list. "That's been a directive by President Trump."
Bondi argued during a Cabinet meeting this month that she was referring to files on Epstein, "along with the JFK, MLK files" when she told Fox News that "it's sitting on my desk."
Trump slammed a reporter for asking about Epstein during the Cabinet meeting, calling Epstein a "creep" who should not take media attention away from other tragic news stories, such as the devastating flooding that rocked Texas' low country this month.
"Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?" Trump said to a reporter on July 8.
"This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking.… We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people are still talking about this guy, this creep?" Trump asked. "That is unbelievable."
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, DOJ and FBI on Sunday morning regarding some MAGA allies criticizing the administration over the handling of the Epstein case but did not immediately receive responses.
Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.